Amazing Odds & Ends - Junkyard Builder

The premise behind the junkyard series is to spur your imagination and highlight the hot-rodding potential of many low-buck, salvage-yard items. Sometimes we zero in on a specific part or assembly that can be adapted for better performance. Other times we merely expose forgotten treasure troves--and let you decide what's useful.

This month we chart the latter course with another bouquet of eye candy and imagination ammunition. Let's take a gander at the incredible stash of vintage relics we found at Bernardston Auto Wrecking (BAW) in Bernardston, Massachusetts. Unlike some of the salvage-yard treasures we've highlighted in the past, all of what you see here is safe from the crusher--and available for purchase. See something you can't live without? Just give yard boss Bud Hastings a call at 413/648-9300 and work out a deal. Special thanks to "Hemi Head Fred" Leigh for turning us on to Bernardston Auto Wrecking.

Groovy Factoids
*Bernardston, Massachusetts, was first settled in 1738 and is named after Governor Francis Bernard, who was royal governor at the time of incorporation.

*The Mercury division often fought to maintain a unique identity. But more often than not, Mercury cars were perceived as either glorified Fords or dressed-down Lincolns. Such are the perils of attempting to saturate every nook and cranny of the vast domestic automotive marketplace.